The race was called with 18 of 50 scheduled laps completed as daylight waned. Two false restarts attempting to complete lap 19, with Pitkat and runner-up Jimmy Hebert on the front row, sealed the deal.

Multiple accidents and long clean-up and line-up times prolonged the race for nearly two hours.

Pitkat started 19th on the grid, eight spots ahead of Hebert. He passed Mike Ziter and eventual third-place finisher Kyle Welch for the lead on lap six.

Hebert gained 25 spots as the hardest charger of the race. He was also the runner-up in 2016.

The race was red-flagged on lap 12 when Ziter, Ray Christian and others were involved in a hard crash into the inner barrier exiting turn four.

Eddie MacDonald, trying for his third consecutive ACT win at NHMS started 26th and finished seventh.

Hebert moved ahead of Pitkat more than once only to have the lap cut short and rendered unofficial by another caution.

“It was a very frustrating race for everyone,” Pitkat said. “I got off the radio with my spotter for a while. I was trying not to hyperventilate. He (Hebert) probably had the fastest car. He rolled through the center of the turns better.”